Tag: Manufacturing

Trump's pick for commerce secretary has a track record of saving American jobs. Whether he can bring many back to the Rust Belt remains to be seen.
A decade ago, cheap Chinese cloth was hammering American textile makers. Companies like Burlington Industries and Cone Mills, two big U.S. makers of...

Trump's decision to scrap Trans-Pacific Partnership is a lost opportunity for tech.
There aren’t many politicians in the US right now who are prepared to shed public tears over abandoned trade deals.
So when president-elect Donald Trump declared this week that the US, under his administration, would drop its support for...

What exactly is going on in the People's Republic? Even with good data, experts can't agree.
On August 12, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued its annual report card on China's economy and gave the country mixed grades, finding that its “economic transition will continue to be complex, challenging, and...

A 10 per cent capacity reduction is needed in six main industries, according to new research.
China's excess capacity problem is daunting by any yardstick.
The nation’s ability to produce manufactured goods outstrips not only the demands of the mainland economy, but that of the entire global economy, as indicated by...

May’s 1.4% jump indicates rising oil prices are contributing to firming domestic inflation.
WASHINGTON—Prices for imported goods rose in May at their fastest pace in over four years, a sign that rising oil prices and the fading strength of the dollar are contributing to firming domestic inflation.
May saw the third...

BEIJING — The Obama administration plans to use annual talks with leaders in Beijing to push for cuts in excess Chinese industrial output, which has inundated foreign markets with discounted steel, aluminum and other products, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said in Beijing on Sunday ahead of the meeting.
The...

New survey data compiled by JPMorgan and Markit show global manufacturing activity is not looking great.
New survey data signals a "broad stagnation" in global manufacturing.
The JPMorgan global manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI), slipped to 50.0 in May from 50.1 in April. Any reading above 50 signals expansion, and any...

Economists take a new look at the evidence that the U.S. has lost millions of jobs to China.
Tennessee has abundant hardwood forests, and business sectors related to them thrived for many years. Yet the state’s employment levels in the flooring, furniture-making, and cabinetry industries have cratered — down by...

Some economists cut GDP outlook as businesses seem reluctant to spend.
WASHINGTON—A key measure of U.S. manufacturing health tipped back into decline last month, evidence that headwinds from weak global growth, low oil prices and financial volatility are weighing on company spending.
New orders for durable goods - products designed to...

In China's industrial heartland, the Communist Party controls the unions – but workers who feel mistreated refuse to be silenced.
In the “world’s factory”, the workers are angry and disillusioned.
Strikes and other labour protests have spiked across the country as Chinese manufacturing plants lay off workers and reduce wages in...

You don’t have to listen very hard to hear the bears growling on Wall Street, London, or Paris these days. Indeed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down another 300 points on Wednesday to just under 16,200
With the U.S. stock market sagging, oil off to its worst start ever,...

China's decadeslong economic boom, based on manufacturing for export, is now going in reverse. With orders in some Chinese manufacturing industries declining, the country is facing factory closures and massive worker layoffs.
China’s August manufacturing PMI was 47.1 according to Markit Economics, a record low since March 2009. It made...

HONG KONG — As China contends with an economic slowdown and a stock market slump, the authorities on Tuesday sharply devalued the country’s currency, the renminbi, a move that could raise geopolitical tensions and weigh on growth elsewhere.
The central bank set the official value of the renminbi nearly 2...

Southeast Asia is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets—and one of the least well known.
China remains the Goliath of emerging markets, with every fluctuation in its GDP making headlines around the globe. But investors and multinationals are increasingly turning their gaze southward to the ten dynamic markets that make...